UNHINGED
by Aspendragon
Summary: Dante is given a bitter reminder of her former lover, Greed, from one of his chimeras and it forces her to recall times, secrets, and relationships she much rather leave in the ground where she buried them. Manga/Animeverse.
1. Chapter 1

**UNHINGED**

**Part I**

**A Full Metal Alchemist Story**

_Written by Aspendragon_

_Full Metal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa_

_This fanfiction will combine the plotlines of both the 2003/2009 anime and manga plus a twist of my own._

**WARNING: **Blood and violence ahead.

A light, resounding maniacal laugh echoed off the walls deep within Laboratory Five. The one behind the laughter could have been a female Joker, but since no one in this world knew of the DC Comics no one made the comparison. Yet the laughter continued on, breath was hardly drawn and it had a repeating vibe to it.

Footsteps were heard, as if a pack of bare feet were stampeding through the hallways. The laughter became withdrawn and the chimera fell in step with her fellow misfits, until she veered off course into a perpendicular hallway. She licked her chapped lips, her eyes mildly mismatched and flickered insanely every time a nearby light touched them. She heard other 'experiments' getting out of their cells, but there were only a few living among them.

She _heard _him, he was somewhere around here…_bingo!_

She placed a palm on a steel door worn with age and dents, due to struggling prisoners. She merely rapped her knuckles against it to hear a response – a clang against metal, a squeal of fear and excitement. Whatever was inside knew of the commotion _outside_, but was unsure of whom was knocking at it's cell door. If it were one of those alchemists…why would they knock?

The chimera took a step back, readied her strong physique then lunged at the door – ripping it cleanly from it's rusting hinges. The door crashed to the ground and bounced off it with enough noise to wake Xing. The crazed chimera glanced at a small cage sitting in the middle of the room, it's occupant gazing happily up at his savior.

"_Y-You_ didn't forget me! The _Laughing Hyena_ didn't forget _me!_" the lizard chimera nearly squealed with delight, not at all ungrateful for the fact the looniest of the chimeras discovered him on her way to freedom above.

"C'mon _Geico_, the new boss is waiting," the chimera replied in a high-pitched tone, her teeth longing to gnaw at a toothpick. Her fingers deftly picked at the smaller chimera's padlock, the cage door swung open, emitting a deafening shriek of metal scraping metal. This made the female chimera grin wider, her eyes glinting more than before.

Bido, the lizard chimera, gave her a nervous look before hopping out of the cage and scurrying for the door. The deranged looking chimera following right behind him, leaving the old cage and the cells they had been forced to call home long behind them.

**Chapter 1: FRAGMENTED**

_**In which the author begins a tale of the avaricious homunculus…**_

At first, Greed wasn't sure what to make of his new band of followers…he's always had followers for one reason or another. This one being new, he had never _freed_ alchemized humans before and since he did, he found that he had to mentally kick himself.

_It was so easy,_ he had thought, he had gained a good number of strong, physically capable henchmen at his disposal. Why hadn't he thought of gaining his past followers in the same manner – he was sure before he hadn't been nearly as successful. With a pub to call his own and plenty of possessions more than willing to do his bidding, Greed was certainly at home.

Especially with drop-dead gorgeous women cuddling on either side of him and a couple of mentally established chimeras running the bootlegging operation behind the Devil's Nest. What did he have to regret this time around?

"Piss off Martel, I love it," oh yeah, Greed momentarily forgot_ that_ particular misfit he had rescued with the rest of the chimeras. It was surprising he forgot really, but that was _her_ fault, she was normally always so _loud._

"You look like you hate it," Martel replied dryly, her green eyes trained on the bottle in the opposing woman's hand.

"Haha, you know I always look like this Martel," the other woman drawled, a toothpick sat in between her lips in the corner of her mouth, going up and down accordingly with her words. Greed couldn't understand that with the slightly feral grin that was always present on the woman's face that Martel could guess she disliked anything, so what did he do if he didn't understand? He went with the flow. He also learned with this particular chimera, it was a favorably acquired trait.

"True enough, but the last bottle was spent sparring with Vulch!" spat the snake chimera.

"Tis what a drunk hyena does Martel, brawl with a croc! Haha!" laughed the other chimera.

Her name was Nikita, that's what she told him and could have passed as a relation to the Armstrongs. This was not due to looks, her hair wasn't blonde nor did she sport the trademark curly strand of hair, no, she was _extremely_ strong in a physical sense.

Greed believed it was due to being alchemized with the heavyset survivor of the savannah, the hyena. Yet he was told she was strong before, having passed combat fighting lessons with flying, dazzling colors (confetti and all) and having a crazed obsession with protein-based foods (he learned she was an avid meat lover). The fusion of animal and human only enhanced her abilities, as well as granting her with nocturnal vision and an irritating-as-hell laugh.

Despite all that and the definite bulk beneath her garments, Nikita was attractive and funnily enough, displayed more of her feminine side than military-girl Martel. Bigger and louder, Nikita stood at level with Dorochet. She was definitely someone to be heard before she was seen, as she loved alcohol and bested all the men in the bar when it came to holding her liquor (Greed being the exception as he never felt the urge to compete against women…of any kind).

Her hair, although neglected for what could have been several years, had been crudely hacked to her shoulders (she broke a couple of combs before coming to this solution) and thick strands were left longer to frame her heart-shaped face and strong jaw. The deep brown complemented her bronze skin, now tanner than it had been when she was isolated from the outside world. What shocked Greed (knowing of the Ishbal massacre) was Nikita's dull red eyes.

"It wasn't that funny Nikita," Martel growled, "you nearly took out a section of the city!"

It also shocked Greed to find Martel to be close friends with the hyena, considering how they were related to mongooses and how Martel was combined with a snake. Yet it seemed the friendship they supposedly developed before their imprisonment was stronger than the wilderness living within them, but they often fought more than Nikita and Vulch did.

"Tis was funny!" chuckled Nikita, the grin not meeting her red eyes, "Vulch didn't know what hit 'im!"

In fact, Vulch did and that was why the next day when Nikita struggled against a rarity of a hangover he rubbed her face in her own vomit. Martel made sure since then Nikita didn't down a whole barrel of alcohol Doc had illegally imported. Not only did they not make profit for a couple of days (running short on a barrel), Nikita went on a laughing rampage against a roaring Vulch – hangover or not.

"Now now, Nikita, no more than a couple of glasses, I want my men in top form tonight." Greed said, this made Nikita laugh with her chest – not the usual hyena-induced chortling, for some reason she found Greed humorous. Yet Nikita got the message, she and Law would probably be in charge of the entrance later, she had to keep sober – or what was sober to her.

"Right Boss, keep yer fingers crossed haha," Martel gave Nikita a significant look before Dorochet entered the tavern. The snake chimera watched as Nikita shifted in her seat to give Dorochet a secret glance, as if expecting him to meet it.

He never did.

Martel, Vulch, and Bido were among the few of the last surviving 'projects,' meaning their experimentation took longer and was absolutely more agonizing. Dorochet and Nikita were two of the first to make it through, what the alchemists in white coats did with them between the times of their success and Martel's was a mystery to her, but whatever it was gave Martel the feeling she was intruding every time the two _did_ make eye contact.

As if while Martel was still on the operating table, they were going through something equally as horrible.

Of course, it made sense that even when they alchemized successfully, the alchemists were not finished with the chimeras.

Greed smirked, allowing the slender brunette at his right to whisper something in his ear. Due to his namesake, his smirk widened greedily and in response, he nuzzled his nose into her lush hair.

"I hate dogs," came a guttural-sounding voice, as if the one owning it had one too many sets of teeth. In truth, Vulch only had one set, sometimes proving to have an overbite, but it didn't completely hinder his speaking ability. The crocodile chimera had followed in after Dorochet with heavy footfalls.

"You hate everything you can't snap at fast 'nough," sniffed Nikita, Vulch reared on her within half-seconds, his reptilian eyes boring into her red ones.

"And you?" Vulch challenged, Nikita decided not to reply, but instead, used the remainder of her drink to splash into his face. She then smoothly cut the atmosphere with her annoying laugh and deftly dodged a blow to her abdomen when Vulch struck out angrily.

"Uh oh," the other woman, sitting beside Greed, uttered demurely. She sounded as if she would be the last kind of the female population to be caught in the Devil's Nest. The Sin merely readjusted his position on the couch, dropping his arms from the back of it to the women's shoulders as if in an act to comfort them. In reality he was keeping them from fleeing – he wasn't done with them yet.

"Don't worry, _Dorochet_," that was all Greed had to say before the dog chimera whisked away and reappeared before Vulch. He appeared stationary for a split second. To Nikita and Vulch's trained eye, he appeared to have been moving in slow motion.

In one fluid arc, Dorochet swiped Vulch across the chest with the hilt of his sword, successfully knocking the wind out of him. He then did a pirouette on one foot to face Nikita, but the hyena chimera only had to grin before they settled back down on their feet.

"Yo Dorochet, care for a drink?" the man in question didn't even bother shaking his head, the woman was deranged, her thought process probably hadn't even kicked in yet that she was in a fight against Vulch a second ago. It still lingered on the alcohol and for that, Dorochet couldn't fix anything.

"Mr. Greed," Dorochet said, his cruel-looking eyes not once meeting Nikita's, he returned to his earlier post near their leader. The hyena gave an inaudible sigh before making her way back to her stool, promptly stepping on Vulch on the way. Martel, who watched the oncoming fight with nonchalance, blinked at her approaching friend.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked softly, Nikita (who had lost her grin a minute ago) regained her crazy expression. Doc had slid another bottle brimming with strong brandy in her direction, her hand caught it so swiftly the liquid didn't have the chance to slosh. She lifted it to her faintly pink lips before sticking out her tongue at Vulch behind her.

That was answer enough for Martel.

Dorochet didn't report anything of interest to Greed and once the hours passed by, Nikita stood from the stool. Martel had left an hour ago to tend with a floating rumor of something called "red water." Greed didn't say why this particular rumor meant anything to him, but had a couple go and investigate along with the snake chimera.

Heading toward the back of the bar, Nikita navigated to the ladies' room before making her way to the entrance of the Devil's Nest.

Looking at her at first glance, most onlookers would immediately walk away swiftly. Despite her handsome face, there was an air about her that overtly exclaimed she would pounce on one that loitered or in her mind, walked slow enough to tempt her.

Unlike the other chimeras, maybe with the exception of Vulch (who unfortunately had such a bad reaction to his alchemization with a crocodile that he carried a very distinct appearance of the reptile), Nikita didn't care how wild she looked. Her hair, although a deep brown, gave off a red sheen and if peered at closely enough, one would make out dark spots glimmering among the strands.

Her choice in attire didn't help either, she enjoyed metal wear almost enough she once had a fleeting thought of maiming herself for the sake of automail replacements. Fortunately, she ignored that particularly masochistic quirk that came with her nature and compromised.

Metal plates sat on guard, fitting snugly on her shoulders, elbows, and knees. What opponents didn't know was the armor wear was also fitted beneath her durable warrior clothes. From a chest plate to her steel-toed boots, Nikita only lacked steel protection around her head, but that was because noise vibrated off of metal. She learned it tampered with her keen head senses plus would get in the way of transformations.

She momentarily recalled the insane chopper back at Lab Five.

In a way, she and Barry had scarily similar fashion senses. They both took on the feudal warrior look of the Xingnese, but unlike Barry, Nikita's way of battling was more likely to cause agonizing internal bleeding than gruesome wall stains.

Barry loved the thrill of slicing the flesh of people, Nikita had the thrill of _winning_, the thrill of taking down opponents even if it required underhanded tactics. The hyena and the chopper got along fairly well during their days of imprisonment, mostly because they would rant and obscenely gloat over their own low moralities.

Nikita smiled at those memories, rather wishing Barry had been employed alongside the chimeras at their time of escape. She would have had the pleasure of working beside such a madman, even though there were numerous times he would lecherously imagine what were beneath her clothes and would add tasteless details of where he would stick his butcher knife if he had the chance.

With a sigh, Nikita recollected her thoughts and splashed cold water in her face. As if the water held magical properties, by the time she looked up at the mirror again, she saw all traces of the alcohol she had consumed in the last several hours vanish. Her crazy eyes were dilated, the irises glinting in the dim lighting from the ceiling.

Her crazy grin had temporarily disappeared, her mind whirring, recalling a time her face always looked like this – normal, well, not always, but _sane_. Those times were gone the moment the Special Ops units were sent into to Ishbal, that bloodbath that led them to Laboratory Five…

With a gruff sound that could be interpreted as a low bark, Nikita ripped a questionable rag from the sink and dried her face.

When the restroom door reopened, the unhinged gleam in her eyes returned and her maniacal smile back in place. Law almost ran into her, his iron hammer in hand.

"Nikita," he said, his voice bland but full of meaning.

"Law," she said back, her incisors seemed to lengthen, seeing another weapon so freely ready to be swung made her itch for her hidden kodachis.

"Any chance of a disturbance tonight?" she asked, sounding hopeful as Law allowed her enough room to start walking back toward the bar.

"I certainly hope if there is that it will be taken care of at the door," Greed cut in smoothly as Nikita and Law came upon the Sin at the bar counter. His eyes were peering at the pair over his designer shades.

"It would be nice to give chase every now and then," Nikita said with a disgruntled sigh, Doc appeared behind the counter, his eyes rose at the sight of Nikita and Law.

"We're getting some special guests, it's _vital_ no one finds out that they are here." Explains Doc, but Nikita yawns, she tries to stifle it from behind one of her hands.

Nikita and Law knew exactly who it was that was showing up – Central Personnel – a high general and his twisted lackeys. Greed wanted inside the most dominating force in the country, he desired the world after all. In return, Nikita believed Greed would offer information of the Homunculi, but that was her guess.

She wasn't an alchemist, hell, Devil's Nest only had that bomber Kimbley, but many had better judgment than to mess with something that shouldn't even exist. Yet the chimeras won't complain, they wouldn't be above ground now if it were not for Greed.

"Yes, yes, I'll play nice and slit throats at the door." With a smirk, Greed signaled for their leave.

Nikita and Law stood dutifully at the Devil's Nest entrance. For now, they just had to wait it out until their "guests" appeared. Then they would settle in for the several hours to come while Greed spoke, manipulated, and gained information.

Before the guests came however, Greed's company, the two women, stepped out with jackets on.

"Have a good night you two," one of them said cheerfully, although with the slightest hint of fatigue. Nikita smirked, Greed had them around all day and they adored him too much to leave any sooner.

"Night," Nikita replied, knowing Law wouldn't.

As they walked on and into the shadows of the downtrodden buildings, a swift shadow passed overhead. Nikita and Law didn't need to look, but the hyena did anyway.

Greed had probably sent Dorochet to keep watch over "his women" as they journeyed home. Whether it was to keep them coming back to him or to keep them (generously) unharmed was unknown, but Nikita thought it was kind of him to send someone to guard them.

Many undisturbed minutes before Nikita's ears picked up on a soft whirring noise, it grew into a low roar. Nikita glanced at Law, the bull chimera nodded minutely, knowing as well as she their guests were close. Seconds later, a sleek, black automobile appeared where the women passed ten minutes prior.

Nikita and Law didn't budge, not even when the general stepped out of the back door, clearly annoyed no one opened it for him. The driver and two other men shrouded in black stepped out after the engine cut off. Nikita knew, even without their blues on, they were Central soldiers.

There was no denying the stench, Nikita's skin crawled, her memories were so vivid she could practically _feel_ her fingers scratching at the concrete walls of Laboratory Five, her nails ripping and bleeding. She couldn't remember as clearly as her hands clawing at the door, but Nikita was fairly sure she tried to bite her way out of her cell as well.

"Nikita," Law said in a low, gruff tone, snapping her back to the Devil's Nest. He remembered, her eyes met his, he was recalling the past just as vividly.

"Evening," the one in charge, the general said with biting indifference, his eyes eagerly swept past the large, hulking figure of Law (of which towered over the general and his escort) and ended up falling directly on Nikita's crimson gaze.

Her eyes flashed, she could hear the man's heartbeat rise, his blood pumping faster through his veins.

Nikita had to shake her head, she was falling too quickly into predator mode. She gave a threatening glance at his posse before straining to look forward, if she looked at the general again she felt she might tear at his throat with her teeth.

The general must have read her thoughts because he quickly said something.

Law answered him, something about meeting Greed down the stairs and whether they liked it or not, his men were coming with him. Armed to the teeth with guns under their coats Law and Nikita were sure, but those weapons would do little against Greed's ability. The remaining crew of the Devil's Nest was either out doing Greed's bidding, guarding other entrances to the Devil's Nest, or down deep below operating something illegal. Greed would be alone with the bastards.

Nothing they would have to worry about.

Due to their extensive hearing, Nikita and Law easily overheard most of the conversation being exchanged between their leader and the shallow military personnel.

It was well past midnight, fifty minutes later that a shadow stirred in the distance.

"You cannot go in just yet Dorochet," Law said without a change in tone, confirming what Nikita already knew to be the dog chimera high up on the roof.

"And here I was about to jump the two of you, figured you needed a break in posture." His voice replied back, the hyena shifted her weight from one foot to another, her neck making a cracking noise.

"We knew you were here since the second you came round," claimed Nikita as Dorochet came out of the darkness. Although Nikita could see him well with her night vision, she had to say she preferred him in a brighter light.

"Figures," he mumbled back in return, making Nikita's blood boil for a second.

_Look at me!_ She wanted to scream, but knew he wouldn't and she knew very well why. She bit back a howl and looked away, at the same time Dorochet looked at Law.

"I'll go and check the other entrances then," he said, with a nod from Law he whisked away.

Nikita and Law returned to their silence, but this time it was far more tense and Nikita suddenly desired to either chase the men away or kill them, either way would work for her as long as she could raid the bar in the end.

"Nikita, you know as well as I do alcohol will not help you in any way." Law spoke calmly and clearly, the hyena had to stifle a laugh, but as this was so difficult she ended up biting her lip and making it bleed.

"You know me too well," she replied back roughly, a hint of insane amusement sitting on the tip of her lips.

"I used to know someone else just as well too," he said, his voice not betraying the deepest of sorrows he was feeling. Nikita clicked her tongue while she awaited a proper response to come to her.

"That's something I cannot help and you know that Law," her crazed smile still in place she appeared content while peering up at the barely visible stars in the sky.

Law looked away, despite the absence of tears on the hyena chimera's face, he could see the agonized cries in those red orbs. A light breeze came and went, they said nothing further.

It wasn't until three in the morning the military men showed themselves, during this time Nikita had to quickly wake Law (who had fallen asleep standing up) and chomp her jaws a few times to jerk her senses awake. The general came up last, having a couple of last words to say with Greed before he stepped up to their level.

"Evenin'," Nikita growled out, not trying to sound cheerful and therefore her words came out throaty. The general snarled at her.

"Ishbalan aren't you?" he asked, barely concealing the venom dripping from his meager sentence.

"And so much more," she replied, giving him a smart grin, lengthening her incisors just a bit. He took the hint and his eyes narrowed.

"Should be dead, just like the rest of your _kind_." Nikita knew he was hinting at her bloodline.

"Surely you are high enough to be _well-informed_ of _our_ existences and why the death penalties were not so kindly bestowed upon us?" Nikita smirked, speaking of the chimeras, the man's eyes widened ever so slightly, but just enough for Nikita to grab and chew on.

"Confused?"

"_I'm afraid their value has expired. Nikita, Law, have fun._" Greed's voice floated up to the chimeras' sensitive ears, the military men did not pick up on it. Nikita gave a wolfish grin as she exchanged glances with Law. In one quick motion, the hyena chimera grabbed a handful of the general's front, pulling him so close his jugular was inches away from her waiting incisors.

The man managed a shocked gasp, his men came running with guns poised but Law was already upon them with his great hammer raised.

Nikita lifted the general, his feet dangling from the ground, he sneered down at her.

"You can't kill me-"

"Humph, what are you gonna do about it if I _do?_" Nikita's smile grew hungrier, her eyes widening and the pupils began to minimize.

"I am MILITARY they'll-"

"They can't do anything if they can't find a body, then again, the military's done a lot without proof of any kind." Nikita's grip tightened, Law grunted as he brought his hammer down, swinging all four of the men into the nearest wall. The sound of their bones crunching set Nikita's transformation off.

Her hair spiked, the spots becoming far more visible. Her face became disfigured, her nose and mouth protruded from her skull into something akin to a muzzle. Her ears grew pointed and the whites of her eyes went black. The quiet moonlight hit her eyes, creating orbs of gleaming lime-yellow.

The man was lucky. He fainted out of terror right before Nikita sank her extended fangs into his shoulder, her new claws puncturing his jugular.

Law was in charge of clean up because quite honestly, Nikita was no good at cleaning and was not as adept to it as Law among other participating chimeras were. Soon after the kill Nikita dropped the man to the ground messily, his limbs in disarray and the head was clinging to the rest of his body by a severely mutilated neck.

Nikita didn't swallow an ounce of flesh, maybe a bit of blood, but altogether just had the time of her life ripping the man to shreds.

"I'll get the car, it'll probably be a nice addition to our transportation system," said Doc as he appeared along with Greed from inside the pub. Greed gave a low whistle as Doc was given keys by Law (who found them attached to the belt of one of the men) then ran off to the automobile.

"Pissed you off pretty good didn't he?" Greed asked, knowing the answer before it was given. Nikita refrained from spitting on the general, instead she wiped her mouth with her arm. She needed a new shirt anyway.

"You said have fun," she replied back, the cool expression she had been wearing seconds before replaced by her crazy face.

"So I did," the homunculus said whimsically, he cradled his strong chin in one of his hands.

"What are the chances he'll be missed?" he asked with arrogance, obviously not caring in the least. Law and Nikita showed the same amount of nonchalance.

"The chances are in our favor," said Law.

"Right, they wouldn't be caught dead out here – no pun intended – so therefore, anyone in the military who knows about this won't be speaking up anytime soon. They'll all be replaced, they were expandable." Nikita said this with a bit of bite, her eyes flashing again as she looked back at the general's body. Her blood boiled and she had to stuff down the urge to lunge and tear again.

**Author's note:**

So you have chosen to read this story, I'm not entirely sure if you would be interested in reading further, I'm certainly not going to force you or beg for reviews (I don't care if you do or not) but I would deeply appreciate it if you would decide to look deep into this story and read between the lines. This will not be a typical 'fanfiction' where a wannabe Arakawa throws in a random OC and has them fall hopelessly head-over-heels for one of the hot characters of the FMA realm.

No, this story has been in the planning and writing process for well over a year now and I've finally sat down and typed out close to 50 pages of this mad creature.

There will be no 'predictable' happy endings or turn of events, things will not exactly happen as they had in the original story of FMA (2003 or otherwise) and unfortunately, Greed will still die (despite the fact I still love him to bits) as everyone will eventually come to their end in one way or another I will honor that with Arakawa's ending for Greed because of that.

About my characters, there will be a few OCs regarding characters such as Daniel (next chapter), but the main OC (Nikita) is not a 'hero', she is not 'hero' material - she is a mad chimera and the reason for that will be explained.

I DO NOT WANT READERS (who I am sure are desanitized to violence and foul language through society and media) TO BRUSH ASIDE NIKITA'S VIOLENT BEHAVIOR - **IT IS NOT NORMAL TO CHOMP ON PEOPLE'S FLESH! OBVIOUSLY THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER! DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS!**

Much like the actual story this fanfiction will carry disturbing events that may bother some readers and I will WARN you from the beginning of the chapter.

Automail surgeries are NOT painless and the death toll and characters you all love will remain the same. There is no sugarcoating in this story, nor sweet/naive maidens for Greed to be paired with. Envy hates everyone and he/she will be damned (more) if he/she's paired with anyone (or anything). The male characters (Garfield being the questionable exception) of FMA are straight and certainly not interested in bedding one another (especially not brothers) so if it is YOAI you are looking for look elsewhere, fanfiction is littered with it. Xing is an eastern country (most similar to China and Japan) and will be treated and written as such (MEANING Ling isn't NEARLY as naive as Ed and Al, he DOES have _several_ HALF-sisters and brothers).

Overall, I write this out of my fandom for Greed and my love for Arakawa's manga the Full Metal Alchemist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

_**In which Nikita discovers a hint to her boss's past…**_

Martel gave a tired sigh, stretching every muscle she could. Nearby sat a couple of her comrades, Bido and Dorochet. If her company had been anyone else, in this case had it been _non-alchemized company_ – they would have stared rudely at Martel. Double-jointed would be pushing it, considering her limbs were bending and stretching in very non-human ways.

She had been up for four nights straight scouring the more "happy" part of Dublith. She wouldn't have believed the city was so large when they first showed up, but it allowed her more exploration. Knowing the city's layout never hurt anybody and proved useful to a snake after all.

"Shame I wasn't there, would've joined in the fun." Martel spoke after Dorochet told the story of the night the military paid a visit. The information they managed to have and give to Greed was a tad short of the jackpot, all that the general claimed to be true led to dead ends and false doors and Martel was one of the unlucky few who had to search them all.

"Nikita was certainly having the time of her life," Dorochet stated, Martel frowned. The lizard chimera, Bido, eyed his slithering tail for a moment, wondering whether he should leave. Nikita, even he knew, was a touchy subject to bring up around Dorochet.

Funny, _he_ was bringing her up.

"You know she wasn't Dorochet…" Martel trailed off, exchanging a worried look with Bido. The smaller chimera shrugged, his face full of confusion and concern. As far as they were all concerned, Martel was closest to the hyena chimera, but somewhere deep down in their guts they knew there was something off between Dorochet and Nikita.

"We have one more lead to check before heading back then?" Bido brought up as he was eager to finish the tasks Greed gave them.

"Yep, one more." Replied Martel, she gave Dorochet a strange look before he ran off onto a neighboring building top.

* * *

Nikita found the bar rather quiet that afternoon as she walked in after a good hour's worth of hard physical labor and a sweet shower. Her eyes scanned the room, the only ones around as far as she could tell was Doc and that mad bomber Kimbley. Others left a smell that had grown stale, but Greed had been strutting about recently but was nowhere to be found.

Doc was maneuvering his way between the bar and the backroom, muttering something about miscalculations and unwashed dishes. Kimbley was where he normally ever was whenever Nikita saw him, lounging at the bar counter with a glass of amber liquid grasped by the top by his nimble fingers.

The bomber tipped his head slightly, eyeing her for a moment before returning to his original, relaxed position.

"Not much goin' on today is there?" Nikita piped up, she plucked up a toothpick and stuck in her teeth as she easily slid onto a stool beside the bomber. Possibly unafraid of his reputation because of her own insanity. The man seemed to tolerate her presence as a patient father would with his obnoxious child or an out-going mother with her silent son, but they both knew better.

They were simply not in the usual bloodthirsty mood. Just two maniacs enjoying the rare moments of serene silence.

"Seems that way," Kimblee answered back suavely, lazily swirling the liquid in his glass. The hyena chimera leaned back into her chair contently, tucking all the madness in the back of her mind as soft sunlight streamed through the doorway and lit up the front section of the bar. The place was almost homey.

Nikita chuckled to herself, oh if the Amestrian housewives could hear her thoughts now…Devil's Nest…_homey indeed._

"Hear anyone Nikita?" Greed's voice asked, the hyena continued to smile.

"Just you Boss, those girls of yours are late." Replied Nikita, Greed gave a depressed 'tsk' before exiting whence he came. Nikita had to keep herself in check, their boss could be such a child when he wasn't getting what he wanted _when_ he wanted it.

"Didn't realize he ran on a schedule," Kimbley admitted cheekily, the hyena shrugged.

"He gets used to their frequent visits, they've spoiled him." Nikita and Kimbley shared a chuckle.

"Here Nikita, didn't forget you just so y'know," with that said Doc put a large mug in front of her.

"Much appreciated Doc," Kimbley didn't comment on her alcohol, he was an early drinker as well.

* * *

"Hm?" hummed Nikita an hour later, Kimbley had left to his room or something and Doc had ambled away, but she had been sitting alone for close to thirty minutes when distant voices met her sensitive ears.

"Boss?" Nikita spoke up a moment later as they grew closer, Greed appeared.

"What's up?" he didn't sound nearly as confident as he usually was, Nikita reasoned it was because he felt "his women" abandoned him.

"Seems you have a new one, I hear three." Nikita observed, noticing the third voice was reluctant and soft in pitch. The hyena smiled to herself, normally the women who trailed in here (after Greed) were lively, urban, and hostess-material. It was amusing hearing the exact opposite making her way towards the Devil's Nest.

_Scratch that,_ thought Nikita, _she's being dragged._

What she wouldn't give to announce to Greed he had a reluctant mistress on the way, but Nikita thought better of it. That would probably make him overly ambitious and a little more persuasive than usual.

Greed seemed to perk up at his henchman's words, he straightened his standing posture and adjusted his fur-collared vest, Nikita snickered into her drink.

"Hm? Want to join them today Nikita?" Greed teased, knowing she'll say no back in the same tone.

"Haha, modest aren't we?" Greed shrugged.

"It's tough being humble when you're so damn good, heh," said Greed with an appealing smirk. Nikita raised her mug as if to toast.

"Amen," Greed grinned, but it faded into a frown when the minutes ticked by and his company hadn't come down yet.

"What's keeping them? We're talking about my women right? Not some passing schoolgirls?" Greed asked somewhat agitatedly, Nikita stifled a snarl.

"Patience, Greed, patience. I told you one of the girl's is new, never heard her before." Admitted Nikita, but the Sin was far from pacified.

"What? Are you saying she's hesitant or something?" At this, Nikita let out a hyena laugh, making Greed frown deepen.

"I think she might be a little more than scared, here's a word of advice – be _nice_." Nikita said through her chortles, the Sin sniffed.

"I know my way around the opposite sex thank you Nikita," Greed growled, his sharp teeth could be seen from between his lips. The hyena shrugged through further fits of laughter.

"There's no doubt about that, considering they keep coming back." Nikita's laughter subsided, it was then she noticed the chitchat of the approaching women had gone quiet. Yet the two familiar ones from the day before began speaking again, from what Nikita could make out they were reassuring the new addition that the laughter belonged to a _trusted, yet questionable employee_ of Mister Greed's.

Nikita heard the girl try to make a run for it, naturally she would, being described as _questionable_ wasn't exactly a positive or neutral description of anybody.

"They're coming!" Nikita assured Greed when he started to fidget noticeably. He looked back at her, but true to her word, clicks of heels and soft footfalls echoed down them.

"Sorry for not being here sooner Mr. Greed," said the petit brunette, Rachelle, most well known by her pet name Razz (given by Greed).

"That wasn't a kind thing to do, what kept the two of you? And who is this?" Nikita looked on shamelessly as Greed narrowed in on the new face. In comparison to Razz and her olive-skinned, dark-haired friend, Serenity, their unknown companion stood between them with a similar body stature. Yet in contrast to the two, she dressed far more conservatively.

"This is Paige, she's Serenity's roommate."

Librarian instantly came to mind to Nikita, but not exactly. A florist maybe, the girl was cute and certainly still held the air of a virgin. Greed must have sensed that too and with the grace of a gentleman (of which he pulled off quite well) brought her hand to lips.

What happened next still made Nikita laugh.

Greed had neglected to hide his unnaturally sharp teeth, Nikita understood why he wouldn't even bother concealing them because with the proximity of his "company" being rather close to him, the girl would find out at some point in the near or very near future. Yet this didn't bode well for the new girl at all. She squeaked, yanked her hand out of his and bolted from the bar.

Greed, never (and quite possibly _ever_) having dealt with such a situation before, remained where the girl left him. Razz had to close her dropped jaw quickly and Serenity sighed with exasperation. Nikita fell out of her stool laughing her ass off.

"I sincerely apologize Mr. Greed! You see, she doesn't get out much-"

"_Obviously!"_ Laughed Nikita.

"-and she seemed interested in meeting you every time we spoke of you, I had no idea she would run off…_like that_." Serenity explained with the deepest regret of bringing her friend at all. Nikita clutched at her stomach with one hand and the bar counter with the other to haul herself back up to her feet.

"Feel free to bring her back, that was great." Nikita said hoarsely, Serenity and Razz shot her identical incredulous looks.

Greed blinked then recomposed himself.

"Well, my ego feels a bit stung," he said, Razz and Serenity instantly began fawning over him.

"We are so sorry for bringing her Mr. Greed, we won't do it again trust us on that." Obviously their despair was lost to Greed, to Nikita (and she was certain the two women saw it too) she could see annoyance and curiosity in her boss's violet gaze. The hyena silently prayed for the girl, turns out Nikita didn't have to tell Greed one of the girls would be reluctant after all.

He did love a good challenge every once in a while, especially if it meant he would be pampered for it in the end.

* * *

Dorochet sat in the shadows silently, wondering whether or not to take after the young woman who had bolted from the underground bar she had gone in not five minutes prior. The dog chimera frowned.

_That's a first,_ he thought, having heard her 'squeak' in front of Greed. Dorochet grinned in spite of himself, inhaling deeply to the point his pipe worked wonders. Exhaling a large cloud, the chimera decided to tail the newcomer for the sake of something to do.

The newcomer (did he hear right her name is _Paige?_) had sprinted, much to her credit, several blocks before Dorochet could kneel and give her a critical eye.

No doubt about it, Greed scared her and to be honest, Dorochet knew she was not the first. At the time of the break-out, the barely attired chimeras remembered their first glance of Greed – a large, cocky grin and terrifying silhouette. He remembered clearly he was one of the few to take his first step toward Greed, toward freedom.

Surprisingly, it took a good deal longer for Nikita to come to her senses (meaning a few more minutes) to leave her cell.

Dorochet closed his eyes, taking the moment to clap his pipe upside-down against the roof of the building he was currently crouched on. _Why_ was he doing this to himself? Greed was slacking on giving him tasks to do, the chimera could handle many of his memories of Laboratory Five with bitter resentment and hatred, but few of those memories…they had been _unbearable_, more so than the needles and scalpels. _All_ that it took to get that dog DNA to alchemize with his…that _pain_…

"?" The wind had suddenly shifted and Dorochet had been placed downwind of the small café the girl, Paige, decided to take shelter at. The dog chimera's face wrinkled out of wonder and apprehensiveness.

What was Nikita doing _down there?_

_Small talk eh Nikita? Have you ever been good at that I wonder…_ Dorochet continued to observe from above as the hyena chimera appeared from where Paige came from. Even from a distant perspective, Dorochet could see Paige's form stiffen when she spotted Nikita and even jumped from her chair when she came closer.

_Easy Nikita, you ARE a scare,_ thought Dorochet, but instantly took back his thoughts.

Perhaps Nikita had a better understanding of the situation and he certainly wasn't one to question a female's intuition. Mad she may be, but still…

* * *

"Paige right? Greed sent me to check up on ya," Nikita greeted carelessly, throwing out the homunculus' name. Paige visibly paled.

"H-He did? Oh, I mean, oh…that can't be good." The younger woman stuttered uneasily as Nikita came up behind the seat opposite of hers.

"Let's sit and get some drinks, 'fraid yer buyin', don't have a cent on me." Claimed Nikita, Paige sweat-dropped.

"Then am I not supposed to be the one to _offer_ the drinks then?" she asked, fighting her stutter.

"Then ask to make it more formal if that makes ya happy, name's Nikita." Since Paige wasn't offering the seat Nikita went ahead and plopped down in the one she had come up to, her eyes observing Paige. Her mismatched gaze unsettling the younger woman somewhat.

"Whatever…" Paige muttered under her breath as she sat down as well, her manners more demure and pretty than Nikita's.

"Welcome to Sweet Cousin's Café, what would you like?" a quick waiter asked, almost instantly Paige blushed and the waiter gave her a more thorough glance.

"Oh, hi Paige! Haven't seen you in a while," he greeted more cheerfully, she blushed harder.

"I suspect you wouldn't…I've been rather busy as of late." Replied Paige, Nikita raised an eyebrow.

"And hello to you too Miss Kita, I'm afraid we _still_ don't carry alcohol." The waiter turned to Nikita next, making Paige stare at the hyena chimera in confusion and she wasn't the only one.

Dorochet had been thrown for a loop too.

_She COMES here? For ALCOHOL?_

"That's fine, same as before then," said Nikita.

"Strawberry drink then?"

"That'll be it,"

"And water for you Paige?" Paige nodded with a small smile before the waiter walked off.

"You came here before?" she uttered, sounding bewildered and second guessing her suspicions from before. Hadn't Nikita been the one that had laughed that loud obnoxious laugh from inside the Devil's Nest? She thought she heard the same thing upon bolting from the bar, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Just a couple of times when I want something sweet, you seem to come here for a different reason all together huh?" Nikita asked, wiggling her eyebrows toward the back of the waiter, Paige went bright red.

"It's not like that at all! You're mistaken!" she cried, Nikita smiled to herself.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, he's a cutie, guess yer into the softer ones eh?" Nikita gave her a significant glance, making Paige squirm in her seat.

"Well, Greed's…decent looking and all, but…"

"But…?"

"That wasn't the reason I went with Rochelle and Serenity to see him." _What am I doing? I can't just tell this strange woman everything!_ Paige thought determinedly to herself.

"What _is_ the reason?" Nikita asked, recalling the look on Greed's face after Paige's swift departure. Now that she thought back to it, it was almost a wistful look, _almost_. Most people get a far away look to their eyes when they think of a memory long since passed. Greed wasn't one to reminisce, but he looked like it during those few split-seconds after Paige left.

She didn't want to admit it but Nikita was curious.

"Is?" Paige repeated back.

"He seemed kind of curious about you, y'know." Claimed Nikita, she lounged back into a comfortable position against the white chair, the slight breeze toyed with her cropped hair.

"To be honest, I'm curious about him too…"

"Oh, _really_?"

"NOT IN THAT WAY I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT!" Everything went silent after Paige's explosion, many heads were turned her way. With a heated face she began fiddling with her napkin.

"Curious how then?" Nikita prompted as the waiter appeared with their beverages.

"I'm not telling you," responded Paige defiantly, Nikita smirked.

"Then I'll make you an offer you won't refuse," the hyena claimed, Paige folded her arms.

"Like what-"

"What is your name?" Nikita asked the waiter when he came to their table and placed the strawberry drink in Nikita's waiting fingers.

"Daniel, Miss," he replied with a smile as he went to give Paige her water.

"Will you take Paige here on a nice date if she told me what's so curious about my boss?" Nikita asked bluntly, she heard a distant fall on a nearby rooftop but decided to ignore it. Paige nearly dropped her drink on Daniel, but he managed to catch it.

"Of course," he said when he handed it back to her, Paige almost melted.

"Would tomorrow afternoon work with you? If you like we can meet here or would you prefer I met you at your place?" he asked politely, Nikita gave the girl credit for finding her tongue in such a moment of crisis.

"H-Here would be fine, one o' clock then?" she stuttered.

"Sure thing, as an early present I'll go ahead and pay for your drinks as well."

"Good man," Nikita cheered as Daniel gave Paige a happy smile before walking away again.

"He's a keeper," the chimera praised as Paige gave her a white-hot glare.

"I just met you and-and-ugh!" Paige started drinking her water with as much vigor as Nikita did when it came to beer. The hyena gave a funny chortle, this time Paige gave her a questioning tilt of the eye brow.

"Why do you laugh like that?" she asked.

"Story for another lifetime, tell me what's so curious 'bout Greed?" Nikita asked without missing a beat. Paige frowned.

"Do you know how old he is?" Paige asked quietly, Nikita shrugged.

"Never thought to ask, why?"

"You see…my grandmother once told me about a man named Greed…I thought it was a funny coincidence when Serenity mentioned him. But the more she talked the more it sounded like the man my grandmother sometimes talks about…" began Paige.

"How odd," Nikita couldn't say much more, before the break-out of Lab Five she didn't know much about Greed's past, but since he's a homunculus…he could certainly be very old. Yet it's not like she was about to tell Paige that.

"_Yeah, might just be the same Greed – no aging must be a part of the artificial-human package!" That would go real well,_ Nikita imagined.

"Grandmother doesn't go into any real detail, but she said he was a curious man. Had strange teeth and a tattoo on his left hand…but her story was from when she was _my_ age. There's no _way_ that your boss could be the same exact person!" Paige explained hurriedly, backtracking through her words in hopes she wasn't revealing too much.

"Who _is_ your grandma anyway?" Nikita asked, drinking out of her cup without a straw.

"She prefers people to call her Dante."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So Dante's in this fanfiction, as I wrote in the last chapter, a lot of 2003 and 2009 collaboration here. She'll be an alchemist still and her long-lost love is still Hohenheim, but it was believed Greed's former self had been a past lover of Dante's and that story is another I want to delve into since it is so poorly neglected. Greed is over 200 years old, there's got to be more to him than those times with Law, Bido, Dorochet, Martel, Vulch, etc. Since the manga seems to take place through...several years (from Trisha's death to Father's downfall), we can assume Greed's stage time was around less than a year (when Al is kidnapped to the battle with Father, as FMA is about Ed and Al's journey mainly). WHERE'S THE REST OF HIS STORY? I will try my best to write my own version of it!

**Glossary of characters**

Greed A homunculus, a real one. Greedy to a fault, but sometimes not greedy enough (as proclaimed by Ling when he killed Bido). He is some 200 years old with a shield ability, he also knows hand-to-hand combat, but must not have used it very often as he had been easily brought down several times by the human-based homunculus, Wrath. What I get from this is Greed is a talker, he prefers words over action most of the time. He can be almost interpreted to being lazy, not disciplined enough to keep up with training his body or has come to rely so much on his henchmen to do the manual work. Becoming dependent on others without realizing it. In a way, he is the most human of his kind, more human than Wrath because he needs that social interaction to quench the loneliness he feels.

Dorochet Always looked to as the most loyal of Greed's henchmen because of his dog DNA, but this can be deceiving. He seems to be moody and a joy to be around at the same time, he endures dog jokes and works well in a team, if he's beaten down he gets up for more for the sake of landing a blow of his own. Meaning he has determination, if he wants something he won't stop till he gets it or he dies. Greedy in his own way and he can relate to his boss through that. He works with a blade, so we can assume he has undergone training or maybe even trained specifically in the east. Maybe his roots lie between Xing and Amestris. He also dresses differently, wearing something similar to omnitsu or of eastern heritage.

Martel Snake she may be, but doesn't really cut cold-blooded. We can assume she had a difficult time fusing with a snake because snakes are not mammals. She is not solitary, like Greed she needs social interaction and maybe that's what makes her so unlike her animal counterpart. Perhaps she needs more time in the sun to keep herself warm, maybe she doesn't like keeping indoors. She is not cool or calculating, but quick on her feet and ready to strike at anyone that strikes at her comrades. I believe she is more unlike her animal counterpart than the rest of the chimeras.

Law Large and burly, bovine is certainly what I would guess him to be. Bovines prefer to keep to herds and graze quietly, Law both works well with others and is of few words. His past affiliation with the Amestrian Army confirms he already had vowed to protect his country, which means he's a man of duty. He may not show it with his expressions, but through his actions he means to plow through enemies even if he has a hard time standing. One of the quirks I gave him is the ability to stand while sleeping. Bring his hammer down on Greed proves he has the utmost confidence in his boss, knows and trusts him enough his brute strength will not ultimately (kill) harm him. Becoming his henchman must mean more than just being rescued by the Sin, but Law must sense Greed's greater power and steps back to show he is the inferior soldier to Greed as he was to the Amestrian military.

Bido Small and nimble, I can imagine him having been arrested for some unknown crime off the streets to be used as experimentation. He has never known war or battle like his comrades, but might have been new to the information task he had been assigned by Greed as he confronts Ed even though there is a vast strength difference. I can see Bido being used just to torment someone with bad aim. He also seems to be a real sensitive little guy, but might also be treated as a sort of pet character by Greed (as Greed was seen patting his head like a dog in the manga). Another character who was alchemized with a cold-blooded animal, he seems to have gotten a bad reaction out of it as he needs a cloak to cover up most of himself. He definitely cannot fit into modern society (or any society for that matter).

Vulch Like Greed, he likes women. Yet his monstrous reaction to his crocodile DNA says more about his character than most, I'm willing to bet he was a bit of scoundrel when it comes to female companionship. Nikita doesn't really like bad manners (despite herself) and often snaps at Vulch for his. There really is no special bonding between the pair of them, they really just don't like each other. Vulch only seems to listen when he is being cheered on by his fellow comrades, whether he respects Greed or not is questionable. I'm sure Greed's bar is the only place the chimera can go to without being judged, like Bido.

Nikita Her story is being played out now, but she has always been topsy turvy really. She loves alcohol, but unfortunately it cannot blur everything all the time. The way she's going she might die of liver failure before Wrath even gets to the Devil's Nest. Built on muscle, sinew, and bone, Nikita doesn't have a pretty woman physique in the least. Closest to Martel (despite the natural enemy relationship between their animals) Nikita is crazy. There is no doubt about that and the Devil's Nest folk know no better. She seems to live in the moment and her first moment of feeling human in a long time is quickly approaching. If she were alone, she may not even notice it.

Doc The bartender and the chimera Greed gives bootlegging responsibilities to. His animal counterpart is unknown, but he is one of the few of Greed's henchmen that uses a gun, we can assume his animal isn't useful in combat situations like bulls or hyenas. Unless he isn't a chimera at all, but was taken off the streets and given a job by Greed?

Rachelle and Serenity Greed's usual women, they adore Greed and are described as modern and urban. I imagine when they're at work (possibly as waitresses or hostesses at expansive restaurants) they are seen as benign and friendly, which is what attracted Greed to them. He's into women who are not shy in expressing their affection and pride in loving him. Yet he keeps them at arm's length in regards to actual relationship building. I doubt he pays them, but they're with him because they care about him and (as it is very likely) he's good in bed (I wonder if they know he cannot reproduce? No real down sides really if their bed adventures are for fun). Regardless, they're not all about sex. Rachelle has dreams of becoming a doctor (she goes to school part-time) and Serenity enjoys writing romance novels (she may be a journalist).

Paige Apparently Dante's granddaughter, she likes the waiter, Daniel and has enough initiative to see this "Greed" character her roommate goes on and on about as he sounds like the same man her grandmother knew. She likes to wear comfortable clothes that leave much to the imagination. Nikita connects with her, in her own manipulative sort of way.

Daniel The waiter at Sweet Cousin's Cafe. Sweet and kind, he may remind you of Alphonse, except without the drive to know alchemy. Like Paige, he attends Dublith's small university.

There's the lowdown of the characters introduced so far ~


End file.
